


Home Can Be a Person, Too

by Impala_Chick



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Canon Divergence - Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Captain America: The Winter Soldier Compliant, Civil War Fix-It, Fix-It, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Metafiction, POV Outsider, POV Sam Wilson, Pining, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-02-28 08:07:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18752398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Impala_Chick/pseuds/Impala_Chick
Summary: Sam helps Steve take out Hydra in D.C., travels the world in search of the Winter Soldier, and eventually becomes an Avenger. But somewhere along the way, he realizes that Steve isn't telling him everything.And when Steve's judgment becomes impaired because of his personal feelings towards Tony? Sam feels an obligation to take action.





	Home Can Be a Person, Too

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sabrecmc](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sabrecmc/gifts).



> Thank you so much sabrecmc for bidding on me at Marvel Trumps Hate 2018, and for your generosity at MTH overall. It was really fun to be able to write for you, considering all you do in our fandom, so I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Thank you so much to nasafic for helping me shape this into something meaningful. Thank you so much to make-up-ya-mind for also beta'ing and providing valuable insight. You guys really gave me some great ideas!
> 
> Working on this was quite therapeutic, because Civil War turned out to be a scar that did not want to heal at first! I appreciated the opportunity to explore this AU.

From the moment Steve and Natasha showed up at his condo, Sam knew he wasn’t going to be able to stay out of whatever situation they were running from. He was relieved when Natasha and Steve looked between them and silently agreed that he could be an asset to their team, because he honestly wasn’t sure what else he could have said to convince them.

Steve and Natasha not only clued Sam in to what was going on with SHIELD, they trusted him with catching Sitwell after throwing him off a skyscraper. That was ballsy, and Sam was impressed by their willingness to take risks. Maybe it was because he’d seen too much - stared into the faces of all of the people who’d come back from war, broken and damaged, and wished he could have done more to protect them - but after he heard the plan, he only had a minor attack of doubt about it before he was wholeheartedly onboard. 

The strangest part of the mission for Sam was the way the intensity of Steve’s focus escalated after Sitwell explained the algorithm’s targets. It was like Steve went from _okay, we can solve this_ to something more like _I will burn down Hydra and everyone in it, just watch me_. Based on what Natasha and Steve had explained to Sam before they got there, they already knew there were a ton of targets, so it couldn’t of been just the sheer numbers that bothered him. There was something else bothering Steve, and Sam’s therapist senses were tingling. Sam already knew that Steve was going to stop those helicarriers if it killed him. He knew that from the moment Steve walked into his kitchen that morning with calm resignation in his eyes. But now it was like Steve’s blood was boiling from the audacity of Zola’s plans.

In fact, if Sam knew Steve any better, he might have explored the possibility that Steve was thinking of protecting someone in particular when he got that cold-blooded glint in his eye. But there were plenty of other things to focus on, it turned out.

As they were speeding down the highway, the last thing any of them expected was to have Sitwell ripped out of the car by a masked emo dude with a metal arm. Emo dude and his merry band of thugs did not give two shits about the traffic collisions they caused, and they sure didn’t care about civilian casualties when they opened fire on the street below the bridge, either.

Sam was proud of himself for reacting quickly, just like he’d been trained to do. But he couldn’t help the lingering sensation that there was some key piece of information that he was missing, something that Steve wasn’t telling him. 

\---

After they were ambushed by the Winter Soldier, saved by Maria, and driven to the safehouse, Sam was introduced to Fury with minimal fanfare. Sam was doing his very best to take all the new information in stride, especially the fact that Steve _knew_ the guy that had been trying to kill all of them, but that sense of foreboding only grew stronger. If they didn’t know about Barnes, what else didn’t they know about?

Sam was also concerned because Steve had barely said two words that weren’t directly related to the helicarriers, the controller chips, or Pierce. But there was no time to stop and have a nice long chat about everything that had happened, so checking in with Steve was going to have to wait. Sam could prioritize with the best of them, and he put his head down and contributed to the plan. 

Natasha, though, wasn’t afraid of stirring the pot a bit. 

“We should really call Tony,” she said, just as they were about to leave.

Sam was looking at Fury, the person Sam had assumed that Natasha was addressing. But three other pairs of eyes were focused on Steve’s face, and it was so quiet that Sam would have been able to hear a pin drop. 

Steve cleared his throat.

“No time, no secure comms. This is a good plan. We don’t need him,” Steve said resolutely. But Natasha wasn’t ready to let it go.

“You know he’s going to be on this algorithm’s hit list.” She crossed her arms over her chest, staring Steve down. Fury sat back in his chair, like he was just going to stay out of this one. Maria started pacing the room, her eyebrows raised.

“I know that,” Steve snapped, finally meeting Natasha’s gaze, his voice icy. “But if it hasn’t escaped your notice, so are thousands of other people. And we’ve got to get going.” 

“All of those other people don’t have metal suits that fly,” Natasha said, cocking her head at Steve. 

Steve sighed then, and slumped his shoulders. He looked defeated, suddenly letting it show that there was a huge weight resting on his shoulders, and Sam was perplexed as to why the mere mention of Tony Stark could bring such a physical change in Steve’s demeanor. 

“We don’t have time to go over the plan again. And he’s… he’ll… well, you know. He’ll take over the plan, he might want to change it, he’ll want to go in guns blazing, and he might try to kill Bucky. And we can’t let him do any of those things. We’ll just have to make sure this works,” Steve finished, his voice soft. Natasha walked over and put her hand on Steve’s shoulder.

“Fine. Then let’s do this.” She nodded at him, then turned around to stuff two semi-automatic pistols into a green duffel bag. 

Sam raised an eyebrow and nodded when Steve glanced over at him, hoping to convey the fact that he was still supportive. The plan was pretty solid, and he felt confident that he and Steve could get the controller chips swapped. They counted on The Winter Soldier trying to thwart them somehow, but the dude couldn’t even fly. 

\---

Sam realized he had drastically underestimated The Winter Soldier once one of his wings was ripped off and he was grounded for a majority of the mission. He was going to have to give Steve’s former bestie a piece of his mind later. 

But there were more immediate concerns, like ensuring Steve was going to live. They found him wet and bruised up on the bank of the Potomac, near chunks of twisted metal from the crashed helicarriers that had washed up onshore. Steve flat out refused to go the hospital, but he did at least agree to rest up for a few days. 

It seemed like Steve’s bruises had barely healed by the time Natasha had intel to pass about the Winter Soldier. But once Natasha handed Steve that file folder, Steve really should have realized that Sam wasn’t going to be able to walk away. He was in too deep to back out before the mission was completed. 

On the plus side, looking for Barnes turned out to be less death-defying than he originally anticipated, unless he counted the nearly lethal glares that he’d gotten from several different librarians when he’d complained too loudly to Steve about the horrors of sorting through microfilm.

\---

Only a couple days after they started their little research project, Steve got called away to New York for Avengers business. In his absence, Sam kept at it, and eventually he found a promising lead about one of The Winter Soldier’s handlers after facial recognition got a match from a couple of photographs. There weren’t any photos of The Winter Soldier’s face, but a bald man in a black suit appeared in surveillance footage at the time of a couple different Winter Soldier missions. That didn’t seem like a coincidence to Sam. He called Steve, and Steve showed up at his apartment two hours later with a green backpack slung over his shoulder. 

“How’d you get here so fast?” Sam had to ask as soon as he opened the door for Steve. Sure, The Avengers were a thing now, but that didn’t mean they had magic time traveling abilities.

“Tony let me borrow his jet,” Steve said. His voice sounded normal enough, but he ducked his head and looked away. Steve was definitely looking suspicious, so Sam couldn’t help but press.

“Oh? Did you tell him what you needed it for?” Sam asked.

“Just that I had to meet with you. He didn’t ask many questions. I’m sort of hoping we can keep this between us?” Steve was using his Captain voice, which honestly would have worked a few months ago. But Cap was just Steve now, and Sam had assumed that all of the Avengers were a tight-knit team.

“You don’t trust him?” Sam said, crossing his arms as he walked over to the kitchen table, where he had a lot of the research documents still laid out. Sam had never even met Tony Stark, so he was curious as to why Steve would ask this of him. Steve didn’t answer.

“I don’t know that I appreciate being your dirty little secret,” Sam teased, attempting to lighten the mood. Sometimes the only way to get Steve to respond was to crack a joke, and Sam was not above using slightly deceptive tactics to get answers. Maybe he should have told Fury he could be a spy after all.

“It’s not you,” Steve said with a sigh, dropping down into one of the chairs next to the table. “There were some things in Bucky’s file that might link him to the Starks. And I think that information is what Natasha was referring to before, when she told me not to pull on that thread. If I tell Tony about any of this, he’s going to dig. He’ll dig so thoroughly that no information will be kept secret.” Steve looked up at Sam, his expression hard to read. 

“What could be so bad that Tony can’t know about it?” Sam asked as he took a seat too. 

“The thing is, once I know something, I can’t pretend like I don’t. I’ll have to decide whether to tell Tony.” Steve scrubbed a hand through his hair, his eyes unfocused. Sam wasn’t sure whether Steve as alluding to something he already knew about Barnes, or if he was just worrying about something that hadn’t ever happened.

Sam’s only mission now was to find the Winter Soldier, and he’d already invested a ton of hours trying to track him or anyone who might have known him. He had gotten such tunnel vision that he had basically ignored the rest of the data - the data that showed the Winter Soldier had committed some very serious crimes. Sitting in his living room, pouring over grainy black and white photographs and copies of newspaper articles, the cold hard fact that many people were dead because of this man was not lost on him.

And yet, it also hadn’t escaped him that Bucky Barnes and The Winter Soldier were two different people. Those crimes were Hydra’s doing.

“I still don’t understand. We’re trying to save the man, not the Winter Soldier. Surely, Tony can understand that. I haven’t met him, but he seems reasonable enough. You work with him. Aren’t you guys friends?” From where Sam was sitting, it seemed like Steve was just irrationally afraid of some very unlikely consequences.

Steve sighed heavily, looking over Sam’s shoulder as if he was thinking of something else. A ghost of a frown flickered over his face before Steve schooled his expression into one of casual contemplation.

“I wouldn’t call us friends. And besides, there’s one thing Tony would never forgive Bucky for,” Steve said.

“Okay, I’ll just point out that now you are being super cryptic about _two_ things, and that’s just plain annoying,” Sam huffed. Tony and Steve weren’t friends? This was news to Sam.

Steve rolled his eyes, but he cracked a smile. There was something he was keeping close to this chest, something too personal to share. Sam decided to let it go, for the time being.

“Fine. You want to see what I found?” Sam pushed up his shirt sleeves and spread out the images on the table, flipping them around for Steve to see. 

It took hours for Sam to explain everything he had discovered, but in the end Steve made a few calls and they were set to travel to Kiev the next day to meet a man named Boris Yelnich in person. Steve ended up crashing on Sam’s couch, because of course Steve carried his go-back with him everywhere he went.

That nagging feeling was back in the back of Sam’s mind, telling him there was something he was just not seeing. But surely, if it was important for Sam to know, Steve would have told him.

\---

Kiev was, unfortunately, a dead end. Boris Yelnich was dead, according to three different sources. And his headstone was a pretty good indication they were telling the truth. 

“Damn,” Steve swore under his breath when they found it.

“Yeah,” Sam agreed. 

They stayed in the city for a couple of days, tailing a different dude who had a very vague connection to a Hydra informant through a business deal he had made ten years earlier. But Steve didn’t want to interrogate him yet, and Sam was getting really bored watching the dude take the same bus to the same location, only to walk into the same office and sit there for eight hours a day. 

He and Steve were parked outside the office building with ball caps and heavy jackets on, and collars popped to hide their faces. Steve had a pair of binoculars, but he’d long since given up on using them to see anything even remotely valuable. Sam was reminded of Natasha and her questions while they were at the safehouse, and he realized there was a sure fire way to make things a little more interesting.

“So, about Tony,” Sam said without preamble.

Steve grumbled like he was already annoyed with this conversation. But Sam didn’t feel overly broken up about it. After all, Steve had brought this upon himself for not being upfront before.

“Seriously, man. I can tell something is up. And since you dragged me halfway around the world to sit in a parked car, you could at least let me in on the secret,” Sam said in a rush, before Steve could interrupt.

Sam glanced over and Steve was glaring at him, his arms crossed. 

“Sam, remind me why I keep you around?” Steve said, his voice sarcastic.

“Probably because I am an awesome conversationalist. And I brought the fuckin’ snacks,” Sam said as he busted out a bag of Doritos and pulled them open. Steve snorted and grabbed a chip out of the bag.

“You know, Tony and I hardly spend any time together. I don’t even know how he’d react if I told him what we’re doing,” Steve admitted.

“But you’re always in New York. I thought he built that tower for all of you to live together,” Sam pointed out.

“I do stay at the tower. He built a whole floor for me.”

“Wait, you have a _whole floor_?” Sam turned his shoulders towards Steve, surprised and intrigued. 

Steve shrugged. “To be fair, he built everyone their own floors. The whole tower is pretty amazing.”

“I’m still not seeing the downside,” Sam said as he ate another chip.

“Tony works a lot. He’s always in the lab, or with Pepper, or with Bruce. Or we’re out on a mission. We don’t yell at each other anymore, so I suppose that’s a plus.” Steve took a deep breath before he continued, and Sam waited. 

“So what I’m saying is, I don’t know how he’ll react, and I don’t want to find out. I don’t want to put him in a position where I have to ask him to back off,” Steve finished. He looked over at Steve, who was crossing his arms over his chest and pushing himself down into his seat, and he suddenly seemed smaller. Sam wondered vaguely if that body language was a vestige of Steve’s former self, before the serum.

“You know,” Sam started. “I’ll stand by your decision either way. But maybe we should try to get all the information we can, so we know what we’re working with.”

Steve sighed again, but uncrossed his arms and sat up straighter. He kept his eyes focused out of the windshield, and his voice took on a deep, unwavering edge.

“I may have done some digging. I couldn’t let it go. Howard and Maria… Hydra was tracking them. Hydra new exactly where they were going when they left their house that night. And Hydra sent Bucky after them.” Steve refused to look at Sam’s face, but Sam saw Steve curl his fingers into fists and press them against his thighs.

“Shit. That’s… fuck.” Sam was at a loss for words. He was struck by the thought that maybe Steve was _right_. Maybe Tony would be better off never knowing that information, considering they were searching for the Winter Soldier to bring him home, not kill him. No human being would react positively to hearing such devastating news. But then Sam thought about how Steve had been on edge since he’d arrived at Sam’s apartment, and they’d left for Kiev immediately after that. Which meant…

“You lied to me? You knew since before you got to my house,” Sam realized, shocked that Steve had kept this from him.

“Sam, the more people that know, the harder it is going to be to keep this from Tony,” Steve said, glancing over at Sam.

“Alright, look. I already said I will respect your decision. But maybe we should think about this. Doesn’t Tony have a right to know?” Sam said as he twisted over in the driver’s seat to try and face Steve, the Dorito bag crinkling as he pushed it into the center console. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like they should tell Tony. This information was too personal, too earth-shattering, to keep hidden.

“I just… maybe,” Steve said, in a tone of voice that clearly implied that he’d already made up his mind.

Sam scrambled to think of something that would change Steve’s mind. Sam would want to know, if he was in Tony’s shoes. And then Steve’s phone beeped.

Steve took it out of his pocket, glanced down at the screen, and pursed his lips as he looked over at Sam.

“It’s Tony, isn’t it? I bet his ears are burning,” Sam said, his voice humorless. 

“He’s, uh. We’ve got a mission,” Steve said.

Sam sighed, but knew that they didn’t have time for a longer conversation. Sam let Steve slide, if only temporarily. 

“Our target hasn’t done anything shady in the past two days, and we haven’t had any luck confirming whether he has a connection to Hydra. I’ll go back to the drawing board and you can get back to Avengering,” Sam said as he put the key into the ignition.

Steve clapped his hand on Sam’s shoulder as Sam shifted the car into gear. 

“Sounds like a plan,” Steve said, sounding slightly relieved. 

“This conversation is not over,” Sam warned. 

“I know,” Steve replied. Sam kept on driving.

\---

It turned out that the Avengers really needed Steve’s help in New York. It had only been two weeks since the Chitauri invasion, and there was a ton of clean up to do, and there was also the challenge of rounding up all of the alien technology. But more pressing than that, Steve and Natasha were in charge of finding any dirty SHIELD agents that had gone into hiding once Natasha had exposed all of their secrets. 

Sometimes, they asked Sam to come with them, either because they thought the mission was going to be somewhat challenging, or because they needed a fly boy. Steve and Natasha were meticulous about gathering as much information as they could before they went in, but even more impressive to Sam was Steve’s ability to improvise without unnecessary death or destruction. He always thought quickly on his feet. Sam learned that Steve wasn’t just a symbol. He was the real deal. It was easy for Sam to trust the mission when Steve was the one to lead it. 

Despite his confidence in Steve, Sam’s mind was still weighed down by the fact that he knew more about the Winter Soldier than the rest of the Avengers. He still felt sure that the right answer was to put everything out in the open.

But Sam could be patient. He still kept up his day job, and he would have made a shit therapist if he couldn’t allow his clients the time to make decisions on their own. Sam respected Steve enough to give him time, and Sam had never seen Steve be wrong about anything before.

\---

The next time Sam found a promising lead, Natasha went to investigate with him. Spying was more her thing, anyway. They were following a dirty SHIELD agent who was already out on parole, in the hopes that he was still meeting up with his old contacts. They were parked in a rented car in Brooklyn, Natasha behind the wheel and Sam in the passenger’s seat with his ball cap pulled down low over his brow. 

It was the first time he’d been alone with Natasha since he’d found out about Barnes, and he tried his best to keep his cool, but he kept fidgeting and wiping his sweaty palms on his slacks. Every time she looked over at him, he plastered on a smile.

“I know about The Winter Soldier, you know,” Natasha said, her eyes never leaving the office building that their target had walked into. Cleary she’d seen right through him.

“What do you mean?” Sam asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

“I know Steve is asking you to keep secrets. About what Barnes has done,” Natasha said, her voice completely unreadable. 

“Did you know before Steve?” Sam asked, grateful to give up the charade. His body sagged as the tension leaked from him. 

“I knew Barnes was connected somehow, but I have since confirmed it was the Winter Soldier. There’s a tape somewhere. Of the kill.” Natasha’s voice was still infuriatingly neutral. This new information seemed quite horrifying to Sam, though. _Seeing_ it would be much worse than just knowing the truth. Not only had Natasha known the whole time, but she’d known more than both of he and Steve. He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

“And you _don’t_ think Steve should tell Tony?” Sam asked, incredulous. 

“Look, I’ve known Tony longer than I’ve known Steve. I don’t think Tony will ever forgive him.” Natasha turned slightly towards him, her shoulders slumped like there was a heaviness weighing on her that hadn’t been there before.

“You think he won’t forgive Barnes? Or he won’t forgive Steve?” Sam asked, confused. 

“Does it matter? Steve wants both of those things, and Tony can’t forgive Barnes for taking away his parents. That’s why Steve won’t tell Tony.” Natasha said it with a finality in her voice that alarmed Sam. 

He turned her words over in his head. That answer just didn’t feel right. He tried one last time to articulate why this whole thing was bothering him. 

“I don’t know Stark at all, but since you and Steve seem so set on not telling him, I’ll just have to trust your decision. But in my experience? Secrets come out someday. And once they do, the fall out is almost never worth it.” 

He looked over and noticed the way Natasha was studying his face carefully.

“At least you care about the truth,” Natasha finally said she turned back to the office building. “That’s a good thing to care about.”

“And you don’t?” Sam asked, put off by her statement.

“It’s not that simple, is all I’m saying,” Natasha said with a shrug of her shoulders. “And besides, if we find Barnes first and give him a chance to show Tony what he’s been through, Steve will be able to plan a way forward after that.” 

He uncrossed his arms, considering it. Sam supposed that wasn’t such an unreasonable plan of action. That’s when their target re-emerged from the office building and started briskly walking down the sidewalk before disappearing into an alley.

“Let’s go,” Natasha ordered as she got out of the car. Sam was hot on her heels as they chased the guy down. Natasha closed her fingers over his throat and did an impressive job of intimidating him. He eventually pulled out his cell phone and gave them the phone numbers of two Hydra handlers he had known before SHIELD was disbanded.

Sam breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t have to argue with her about leaving the guy alive. 

\---

The numbers were a dead end, of course. Nothing could ever be simple in Sam Wilson’s life, at least not since Steve Rogers showed up. The whole world knew that SHIELD was compromised, so it wasn’t like it was a surprise that the Hydra handlers had ditched their cell phones.

Maybe he wasn’t the man for this mission after all. Sam was feeling frustrated and annoyed and was sitting on his couch considering quitting when Steve called him.

“Sam, Stark is throwing a party. You should come.” Steve sounded almost excited over the phone, which was definitely not like him.

“Yeah? What kind of party? Should I go buy a new dress?” Sam joked as he used his shoulder to keep his phone against his ear.

“Everyone who has remained loyal to SHIELD is invited. Stark is going to show off the new tower, raise some money for New York, show support for veterans. It should be fun.”

“I’m sorry, did Captain America just say we’re going to have fun? At a party?” Sam teased, getting excited despite himself. He stood up and started clearing dirty dishes from his coffee table, feeling energized again. It was always good to have something to look forward to.

“Very funny,” Steve huffed. “You deserve a day or two off, ya know,” Steve added.

“Yeah, no kidding,” Sam replied immediately. Steve laughed.

“And I’ll tell you about where we’ve been when I see you,” Steve said, his voice light. “The last mission got a little out of hand.”

“You don’t have to entice me anymore, I’ll be there,” Sam said as he put down the dishes in the sink.

“Good,” Steve said before he hung up.

As Sam got out his laptop and booked a flight to New York, he started to dread meeting Tony Stark. If Natasha could tell he was harboring a secret, maybe Tony was going to be able to see right through him. 

\---

The party was in full swing by the time Sam exited the elevator in the tower, and he couldn’t help but smile as he looked around the room. He noticed several Avengers, their faces made famous by the 24-hour news cycle. He also saw several older gentlemen in bomber jackets, and civilians in dresses or suits. He looked over at the bar and made eye contact with Natasha, and he nodded at her and offered a small wave. He latched onto the friendly face, and headed over in that direction.

“Hey Sam, what can I get you?” she asked, glass already in hand. 

“Whiskey on the rocks, if you don’t mind. How’s it going?”

“Oh, you know. Clint has been calmly surveilling everyone from the second floor landing, Thor has told the same story about something called a bilgesnipe at least three times, and Tony is practically charming the pants off everyone,” she said with a laugh as she grabbed a bottle of whiskey off the shelf.

“Where’s Steve?” Sam asked as he scanned the room again.

Natasha smirked and tilted her chin behind Sam as she poured his drink. Sam swiveled in his chair.

A few things started to make a hell of a lot more sense almost the minute Sam laid eyes on Steve.

He was talking to Tony, a glass in his right hand. His left hand was tucked into his pants pocket, and his whole body was tilted forwards, as if he was hanging onto every word that came out of Tony’s mouth. Tony’s back was to Sam, so he couldn’t see how Tony was reacting. But the dead giveaway was Steve’s facial expression. His eyes were soft, and his mouth was curved into a shy smile that Sam had absolutely never seen before on Steve’s face.

Sam glanced back to Natasha with an eyebrow raised.

“Did you know about that?” he asked, gesturing over his shoulder.

“I had a hunch. But Steve won’t admit it, so I’m not entirely sure there’s anything going on,” she said, putting Sam’s glass down in front of him.

Sam considered asking Natasha why she had a hunch in the first place, but Steve was already walking over.

“Sam! I’m glad you’re here. Want to meet everyone?” Steve asked with a dorky grin and a twinkle in his eye as he clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“Absolutely,” Sam said, trying not to sound too eager.

Thor spoke about friendship and partnership, Clint congratulated him on putting up with Cap, and Bruce thanked him for infiltrating Hydra. Steve saved Tony for last.

“Nice to meet you, Wilson. I hear you’ve been holding down the fort in D.C.,” Tony said with a smile as he shook Sam’s hand.

Sam glanced over at Steve, who was focused on Tony’s face.

“Nice to meet the guy behind all of the kickass inventions,” Sam said, and meant it. Sam had seen the results that Tony produced first hand whenever Steve busted out a new uniform mod or gave Sam some SI protective gear. 

“I know Steve appreciates the new uniform, especially,” Sam couldn’t resist adding, just to gauge their reactions. He’d heard Steve complaining about it being extremely tight on more than one occasion, and Sam would have had to be blind not to notice. And now that he sensed something was up between Steve and Tony, it seemed like the perfect time to bring it up. 

When he looked over, Steve was watching him with narrowed eyes, and Sam nearly laughed. But Tony was as calm as ever. He smirked and gave Steve a noticeable once-over.

“Well, someone has to cloth him,” Tony said simply. “Hope you enjoy the party!” And then Tony flitted off to great more guests, and Steve turned to Sam, his arms crossed.

“Very funny,” Steve deadpanned.

“You can’t tell me there’s nothing going on between you two,” Sam teased as Steve grabbed his elbow and steered him towards the pool table with a huff. “And it’s better than talking about the Winter Soldier, right?”

Steve rolled his eyes. “If those are your only two options, we seriously have to come up with talking points for you.” 

“Oh, c’mon,” Sam said. “The man was not subtle with his flirting just now.”

“Sam, I’m begging you to stop,” Steve protested as he picked up two pool cues from the pool table.

“I’ve barely gotten started!” Sam replied. He took the offered pool cue from Steve with a mischievous smile, and Steve groaned.

“Wanna put money on this game?” Sam asked as he racked the balls.

“Ha. I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Wilson,” Steve joked, smiling again. Sam handed Steve the cue ball and let Steve break. He pocketed the 2 ball, and Sam rolled his eyes. 

“Do you have to be good at everything?” Sam teased as he came around the table to elbow Steve in the ribs before they started getting serious about the game. 

Guests filtered over to them while they played to talk to Cap, and Sam was genuinely having a good time meeting new people. He let himself get pleasantly buzzed, soaking in the happy collegial atmosphere. 

He only caught Steve glancing over at Tony four times, and Sam was proud of himself for resisting the urge to either tease Steve mercilessly or to call Tony over.

After they’d played a few rounds, Steve talked to him about the mission Sam had missed out on as they walked up onto one of the glass platforms that looked out over the room. Steve got a wistful look in his eye as he had looked down at the partygoers, after Sam asked if he’d found a place in Brooklyn yet.

“Home is home, ya know?” Sam said, as a way to encourage Steve to find a place where he fit in, even if that wasn’t Brooklyn anymore. But Steve stopped smiling, and looked solemnly down again, his eyes roaming over Tony. 

_Sometimes home can be a person too,_ Sam didn’t add. Something about the look in Steve’s eye told Sam that maybe he already knew that.

\---

As the party was winding down, Sam said his goodbyes to everyone in order to head back to his hotel room. Sam was feeling tipsy and warm, and also thoroughly encouraged to keep at the mission and help the Avengers in any way he could. But as he looked over at Tony’s smiling face, he was struck once again by the feeling that Steve was making the wrong decision. Steve graciously offered to walk him out, and once they were in the elevator, Sam brought it up again.

“Cap, I’m going to have to re-assert my earlier opinion. Shit will be easier if you just tell him,” Sam said as he patted Steve’s shoulder.

Steve sighed as he pushed the first floor button.

“And it’s really annoying that you are much more sober than I am,” Sam added. 

“I’m going to assume you’re talking about Bucky. And I will. I’ll tell Tony after we get Bucky back,” Steve said, his voice resolute as he gazed over Sam’s shoulder.

“Fine,” Sam said, and then changed the subject in order not to sour the mood. “I had fun with them, they’re a good group.”

“They are. And they liked you,” Steve said, a smile back on his face.

“Was that an unofficial job interview?” Sam asked. 

“Maybe,” Steve said mysteriously. 

“I’m already in, whatever it is,” Sam said. Steve laughed.

“I know, Sam.” 

\---

By the time Sam heard about Sokovia, the battle was over. It was surprising how it didn’t take much time at all for a huge city to be raised into the sky and then thrown back down again. He was a little miffed that Steve hadn’t passed on his contact info to Fury, so that he could have helped with the evac at least, but then again he’d long since learned that Steve was a secretive guy.

He paced in his apartment with his cell phone volume turned all the way up, waiting for Steve to call. The thought didn’t even cross his mind that Steve wouldn’t make it. To Sam, he was practically indestructible. And besides, the evacuation was being broadcast on the news, and Steve and the other Avengers could be seen amidst the rubble, helping people. 

Eventually, his phone rang.

“We can’t do this alone,” he said without preamble. “What do you say about becoming an Avenger?”

“As if you don’t already know the answer,” Sam quipped, his nerves frayed and adrenaline zipping through his body. The feeling was not unlike the first time Steve had come knocking on his door, with Natasha in tow. 

He stuffed some clothes into a suitcase, caught the first flight available, and reported to the Avengers compound the next day, eager to help in any way he could. Steve was more stern and more serious than Sam had ever seen him. He hardly said two words to him as he walked him to the training floor, but Sam chalked it up to how devastating Sokovia must have been. 

\---

A few weeks later, Steve was still extremely somber and business-like whenever Sam saw him. His mood didn’t approve once the Avengers learned about the Accords. The debate was more personal and more painful than Sam could have predicted. He appreciated that Steve held fast to his ideals during the first meeting with Ross, because to Steve this was just another attempt to consolidate power into the hands of only a few untrustworthy people, and Sam wholeheartedly agreed with him.

But Steve’s decision wasn’t the problem.

The problem was that Sam realized why this debate was so personal to Steve. The sense of foreboding that had been nagging Sam wasn’t just a hypothetical anymore, because Steve wasn’t thinking clearly and the whole team was headed towards disaster. Maybe if Tony had all the information at his disposal, he would see that Ross was making the wrong decision about Barnes, and that would lead to the realization that neither Ross nor the U.N. were capable of making the right calls from where they sat in their ivory tower. 

“I know I’m like a broken record at this point, but you have to tell him,” Sam said as he and Steve sat at a picnic table outside the compound, eating the sandwiches they bought at the lunch counter in the SHIELD mess.

Steve put down his sandwich and looked directly at Sam before he spoke in a harsh whisper. “It won’t do any good. We’ve all already seen what happens when one government organization gains too much power. SHIELD tried to control us, and they got infiltrated by Hydra. Who knows what will happen this time around? Tony knows what Hydra did to SHIELD.” 

“That’s all true, but why can’t you let Tony make his own decision? With all of the facts? He might change his mind,” Sam pushed.

“He’ll hate me,” Steve said simply, looking away.

Sam sighed. Steve almost always acted fearlessly and selflessly, making the decisions no one else would have been willing to make. But this one time, Steve was letting his fear cloud his judgement. It seemed that Sam had discovered his one weak spot.

“I think you’re letting your feelings stop you from seeing the big picture,” Sam said gently.

“Drop it, Sam.” Steve’s voice was like steel, and he was glaring daggers at Sam.

Sam thought about how Steve had said he wasn’t sure if he could trust Natasha anymore, not after she voiced her support for the Accords. Sam didn’t want to make Steve doubt him like that. So he did as he was asked.

\---

After the bombing in Vienna, there was only two ways it could end - with Barnes either dead or hidden away by Steve. Sam knew that he and Steve had to find Barnes before everyone else. Sam had turned over all of the research he had collected on Barnes to the new and improved SHIELD already, but after all of the hours he had spent studying the guy, a certain respect had emerged. He had never met Barnes, but he still felt like he knew him. And he knew he deserved a chance to get out from under Hydra’s influence. 

Sam was glad to discover that not only had he and Steve been right about the extent of the brainwashing done by Hydra, but Bucky actually had useful intel for them, once he wasn’t under the control of Zemo. 

Sam was dedicated to the plan, convinced it was the right thing to do, and he was happy to help Steve put together a team and take a stand. Sam could tell that Steve felt rejuvenated, too. 

Too bad the plan went to hell. 

\---

Everything escalated so quickly at the airport that Sam barely registered that he was being arrested until he was locked up in a maximum security prison in the middle of nowhere, as if he was a mass murderer. Sam kept replaying the fight at the airport in his head, cringing at the reality of what they had all done. And he was told what had happened to Rhodey, which was undoubtedly the most sobering part of the whole situation. 

Being locked up meant that Sam was forced to sit by himself and turn everything over in his head, and he was at a loss for how to make the fight turn out differently. But there was something Sam could do about the future. Steve had waited too long, and Sam had run out of patience. Sam was going to trust his gut.

Tony came to see him less than 24 hours later, just like Sam figured he would. 

“Wilson, I know I’m probably the last person you want to talk to right now-”

“How’s Rhodey?” Sam stood up from his bench and cut him off, low on patience. He knew exactly what he needed to say, and this time he was going to say it. Sam approached the bars, and grabbed ahold of them to look Tony in the eye.

“He’s… Rhodey, still. He’s got a hell of a road ahead, but I’ll tell him you asked about him,” Tony said, his voice low. 

“I know that Zemo set Barnes up. I can prove it,” Tony continued. “I want to be able to tell Cap. And I’m guessing that you might know where I can find him.”

Sam dropped his hands from the bars, surprised. Maybe this was going to be easier than he thought.

“I know where they are. But there are some things that you should know first, Tony.” 

Tony crossed his arms, waiting. Sam had a split second of indecision, knowing that Steve might never forgive him for what he was about to say. But it had to be done. There was no other way to move forward, if he didn’t say something now. Sam knew by now that Steve was waiting for a golden opportunity that wasn’t going to exist, and soon there wouldn’t be anything left to say.

“Maybe you should sit down?” Sam ventured, trying to figure out the nicest possible way to spill the truth. But Tony just rolled his eyes and gestured for him to continue.

Sam took a deep breath, knowing there was no going back from what he was about to say.

“Your parents. The Winter Soldier killed your parents, when he was brainwashed by Hydra.”

Tony blinked up at him, his face pinched. Sam saw his hands curl into fists at his sides.

“How do you know?” Tony breathed out, his voice shaking. 

“We did a lot of digging, when we were looking for Barnes. And there’s a tape, but I haven’t seen it,” Sam explained.

“How long did Cap know?” Tony asked, his voice a harsh whisper. Sam made an effort not to shrink away from Tony or the question. Tony’s body had started to tremble, with rage or with sadness; Sam wasn’t sure which.

“A while,” Sam admitted reluctantly. 

Sam watched as Tony’s body caved in on itself. Tony collapsed to the ground, his knees striking the pavement with a sickening thud. Sam reached out to him, but the bars prevented him from doing anything to help. He watched as Tony recoiled from him, scrambling backwards a bit so that his face was mostly cast in shadow. Sam kept replaying what Steve had said to him, about how Tony might hate Steve after hearing the truth. 

“Where is he?” Tony asked as he looked up at Sam from the ground. It certainly looked like hatred was burning in his eyes.

“Don’t you want to know why he didn’t tell you?” Sam asked, sounding a lot braver than he felt. 

“Does it matter?” Tony asked as he rubbed the heel of his palms against his eyes, his body still visibly trembling. 

“Yes,” Sam said with conviction. If Tony was to know the truth, he should know _everything_. 

“He doesn’t want you to look at him and think of her parents deaths. He cares about what you think of him. Like, he _really_ cares.” Sam didn’t mean to put extra emphasis on the last part, but it kind of slipped out. 

Tony slowly got to his feet, relying on his right arm to push himself up from the ground. His mouth was set in a firm line, and his body radiated waves of tension as he glared at the wall over Sam’s right shoulder. Sam reminded himself not to recoil, even though it sure looked like Tony was ready to hit him.

“Where is he,” Tony repeated, his voice hard and commanding.

Sam shook his head. 

“Not until you take a minute.”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Sam. Don’t fuck with me,” Tony spat.

“I’m not. Steve had good reasons for not telling you, but now we’re way past all of that. You deserve to know. But you also can’t deny the fact that Barnes was brainwashed. It wasn’t his fault, and it certainly wasn’t Steve’s fault.”

He turned away from Sam, breathing heavily as Sam spoke. Sam hated being in this position, and he didn’t blame Steve for avoiding this. Tony ran his left hand through his hair roughly, his right hand on his hip. Sam waited anxiously, hoping for a sign that Tony was considering what he’d said. Tony dropped both of his hands and shook out his fingers, like he was trying to calm himself down, and Sam started to feel slightly more confident.

“It’s still his fault that he didn’t tell me,” Tony said softly, with his back to Sam. 

“Yeah, it is. Not really worth killing Steve over, though,” Sam said, just for good measure.

Tony took another shaky breath, and then turned to face Sam. He still looked shaken, but his eyes were much calmer than they had been before. 

“I’ll tell you where they are, but you go alone. Don’t tell Ross. Deal?” Sam asked, not sure if he still had the upperhand in this conversation but willing to try to be persuasive anyway.

“Deal,” Tony answered, squaring his shoulders as if he was fortifying himself for the meeting already.

So Sam told him.

\---

Sam wasn’t sure whether to expect anything good to come of what he’d done. He just hoped he had been able to salvage _something_ , anything that might allow Tony and Steve and the rest of the Avengers to be able to speak to each other again. 

He certainly didn’t expect to be busted out of prison by Tony _and_ Steve. Together. 

\---

Natasha had the Quinjet already waiting for them when Tony blew open the roof of the prison. Sam was grateful that Tony offered him a smile and clapped him on the shoulder as he boarded the jet, which was a sign that maybe everything had turned out okay. Although Sam definitely noted Barnes’ absence, and Steve’s unwillingness to look him in the eye.

Tony told them all during the flight that he was going to have to negotiate with Ross, so he asked all of them to stay at the compound until he got the chance to speak with them individually. Clint and Scott begrudgingly agreed, so long as they could use a phone to contact their families. The others stayed quiet.

Once they landed, Wanda floated into the compound without argument while Natasha stayed behind to power down the quinjet. Steve gestured for Sam to stay back with him, so Sam waited until the others exited. Tony glanced back at Steve a bit longer than necessary before he nodded and followed Scott and Clint inside. Sam couldn’t read Tony’s expression, but his body looked calm and relaxed, his eyes twinkling with something akin to amusement even though he kept his lips pressed together in a thin line.

Neither Steve nor Sam spoke until everyone else was out of earshot. Sam braced himself for a fight, and spoke up first before Steve could lay into him. 

“Okay, I know you’re probably pissed at me, but you should know I was literally willing to do jail time for you,” Sam started, his hands up in a gesture of goodwill. 

Steve laughed softly, and raised an eyebrow. Sam huffed out a sigh of relief. It was probably a good sign that Steve was laughing at him.

“You probably could have driven a harder bargain, with the information you had,” Steve mused.

“Man, don’t leave me hanging. Siberia, how did it go?” Sam asked, eager to hear what had transpired.

“Tony did want to kill Bucky. God, he was so angry. But we had a… there was some talking. We talked, is what I’m saying.” Steve stumbled over his words, and a flush started to brighten his cheeks. He sounded a little breathless. 

Sam was surprised by his awkwardness, but it seemed fairly obvious to him that there was more to the story than what Steve was telling. “Oh my god, looks like you did more than talk!” Sam slapped his hand against Steve’s shoulder and pointedly grinned at him.

“Get your mind out of the gutter,” Steve chastised, as he started walking faster, shrugging off Sam’s hand. 

“Oh, fine, fine. I’m the one who made all of this possible, but definitely don’t tell me any details,” Sam said, his hands up in the air as he quickened his pace to catch up with Steve. Steve just smirked, but didn’t offer anything more.

“So Bucky? He’s going to be okay?” Sam asked, his voice hopeful now that he knew Steve wasn’t angry.

“We took him to Wakanda. King T’Challa and his sister are going to do what they can for him.”

“Good,” Sam said with a nod. “I hope he gets a fresh start.”

“Me too,” Steve said, sounding thoughtful. And then Steve stopped walking and turned to face Sam, his eyes apologetic. 

“I was mad at you at first, but I had a quinjet flight to think it over, and I’m glad you said what you did. This could have ended a lot differently. So thank you, Sam. I mean it,” Steve said as he put his hand on Sam’s shoulder. His body tensed up, like he wasn’t sure how Sam was going respond.

“Yeah, well. I don’t want to say I told you so, but I did tell you so,” Sam chastised, keeping his voice light. He couldn’t help but get a little dig in, even if he was mostly joking. Sometimes Steve was just so damn stubborn, which usually paid off for him, but it wouldn’t hurt for Steve to listen to his friends occasionally. 

“Sometimes I think you’d be better than me at the whole Captain America thing,” Steve replied, a huge grin on his face as he visibly relaxed.

“Right,” Sam said sarcastically. He rolled his eyes for effect, but the remark still warmed him from the inside. By that time, they’d reached the glass front doors of the compound, and Tony was waiting for them just inside the foyer. Sam held open the door, but didn’t miss the way Steve’s face softened when he looked at Tony. It was as if the rest of the world fell away. Steve tucked his hands into his pockets, and didn’t drop eye contact with Tony as he walked inside.

“There’s no place like home,” Steve said, clearly talking to Tony. To Sam, it was obvious that Steve was talking about Tony being back, and by the looks of Tony’s bright eyed and open grin, he at least had an idea of what Steve meant. Sam suddenly felt like he was intruding on a private moment.

“Right?” Tony agreed as he swept his arms out around them to gesture at the rest of the compound. “I think our new place is better than our old place.”

Sam definitely caught the fact that Tony said _our_ place. If Steve’s face was any indication, he’d caught it too. Sam couldn’t help but grin, even though neither of them were looking at him. Maybe there was hope for both of them after all.

Sam started walking down the hallway, using a fake cough to mumble "Get a room," just because he couldn't resist teasing them at least a little bit. 

“I heard that!” Steve called out.

Sam just waved his hand over his shoulder without turning around. He should add _matchmaker_ to his resume.


End file.
